Embodiments described herein relate generally to laminated composite assemblies containing electrical circuits and more particularly to methods and apparatus for overlapping windings of multi-circuit printed circuit boards.
Some known laminated composite assemblies (e.g., printed circuit boards) include multiple layers of selectively etched copper separated by a substantially uniform core material and/or dielectric material. The conductive layers of copper carry electrical current from, or induced by, a source to electronic devices in electrical communication with the conductive layers. For example, in some instances, the conductive layers of a printed circuit board can receive a flow of electrical current from a power source such as a battery, inverter, or power outlet. Such printed circuit boards can receive and/or transmit a flow of electrical current in a single phase or multiple phases.
In other instances, an electrical current can be induced on or along the conductive layers of a laminated composite assembly, such as, for example, by permanent magnets included in an electromagnetic machine. In some embodiments, a laminated composite assembly can be arranged within the electromagnetic machine to form a stator. In some instances, the phase and/or phases of the electrical current carried on the conductive layers of the laminated composite assembly can be varied between the layers. In some embodiments, the laminated composite assembly can include symmetrically wound machine coils that form symmetrically overlapping areas associated with each phase of the current. This symmetry helps to balance electromagnetic effects such as mutual inductance between phases.
In some embodiments, however, the use of a single laminated composite assembly to form a stator may be unfeasible (e.g., when used in a relatively large generator or motor such as, for example, wind powered turbine). In such embodiments, a number of laminated composite assemblies can be aligned to form a segmented stator. By forming a segmented stator from multiple adjacent laminated assemblies, an area of dead space defined by the “seam” between adjacent laminated assemblies produces unbalanced mutual inductance, which can cause significant electrical imbalance in the segmented stator.
Thus, a need exists for improved methods and apparatus for overlapping windings of one or more laminated composite assembly.